Worst Downtown in The State?
Below you'll find a hyperlink for Planetizen, a Planning & Development focused e-zine created by Urban Insight.
They link to an article in the "California Planning & Development Report from 18JUL07. The article talks about the best and worst downtowns in the state.
http://www.planetizen.com/node/26104
I'll give you one guess where Fresno ranks?
AT THE BOTTOM.
Here's the actual quote from the article:
"Worst Big-City Downtown in California: Fresno. It's really not even close. Bakersfield, Oakland and Anaheim all have less-than-ideal downtowns, but none of those districts is as desperate, depressing and even threatening as downtown Fresno. The hideous 1970s office buildings are the least of the problems in Fresno's core. The place is one gigantic real estate "opportunity," and it's usually deserted after 6 o'clock. Yes, there is a nice new minor league baseball stadium, but that's about the only reason locals willingly go downtown."
But wait, how can they say this? when "the trolley is coming, the trolley is coming!"
I thought the BEE article extolling the virtues of a trolley going to nowhere should have been entitled "A Streetcar Named Desire — Part II."
When I was at the City of San Jose Office of Economic Development we were still being critiqued for a trolley line that cut right thru our old downtown. It had no riders because NOBODY LIVED DOWNTOWN.
We built a multiplex theatre that went belly up, because NOBODY LIVED DOWNTOWN.
Finally, the City began to focus on getting people TO LIVE DOWNTOWN, and voila — the trolley had riders.
Do any other Fresnans feel as I do sometimes - like Alice after she drank from the small bottle?
Lets Build
Downtown should not have to suffer there is too much money being spent on little projects instead of Downtown. There could be many buildings high in the sky that are commercials, hotels, apartments or townhouses, and retail instead there are empty buildings. I think it's time to construct and provide thousands of jobs. Downtown isn't the only problem though many problems lie ahead like deserted land; which could be housing facilities or commercial based offices. Look at cities like Los Angelas and San Jose, they are building many apartments, townhouses, villas whatever and there just getting started not to mention they have great Downtowns if Fresno just spent less time talking and more time constructing we wouldn't have to compare ourselves to othere cities they would compare to us. There is large acrage of land and homes could take the place, as for downtown I say what are you guys waiting for get up and WORK!!!...
Please don't refer to them as "homeless". They are street people
Most homeless want help.
The street people live on the street by choice.
Most of the ones roaming downtown Fresno are street people that want drug and beer money because they blew thier welfare check by the third.
If they say their hungry and need money offer to by them food.
If they ask for a dollar for the bus offer to pay when the bus arrives.
Most of them will refuse your offer.
Why has Fresno County let Woodward Fountain be destroyed?
Has anyone taken a look at the fountin?
This historic piece of old Fresno in Court House Park is slowly vanishing.
The street people are slowly removing the old metal pieces to recycle for drugs.
Why doesn't the County Board of Supers do something?
The old metal decorations should be removed and stored till the fountain can be restored.
I'd volunteer my time to help clean it up.
What happens when the street people snatch M.L.King's head or the statue of the Mexican President to recycle?
don't feed the homeless, it only encourages them
I've worked @ Fresno County's; Welfare (ET&A) in the Homeless Unit, Jail Medical, the Health Dept, so, this is want I've found
There are programs to feed, house, clothe, educate, sober up, and employ them, if they want it, problem is, they need to want to, its like AA, need to make the first step
we are a generous city, too generous, so they flock here, people need to earn so that they earn respect for themselves, we are enablers otherwise
"will work for food" is code for, "need drug & booze money"
I was at the Monterey St Bridge camp, Poverello House, Rescue Mission today, as part of my work duties, this is were our society breaks down at the edges
motivation, clear thinking, planning, are key
if anyone thinks this system works, I don't see it
solution: workfare, just like FDR's "New Deal", we need infrastructure repair, farmworkers, better mental health & anti-drug programs
start now
bleeding heart liberals, compassionate conservatives, religiously motivated & otherwise, need to apply now
Darn!
Grizzlies fans were handing over free loaves of bread to the homeless? Damn, did I miss bread night at the stadium again?
p.s. I bet the homeless would've accepted bobble heads and rally towels.
Worst downtown. Gee didnt I say this the other day?
I pointed out how bad it was and you all attacked me.
The other night when I left the stadium the street people were circling trhe fans leaving and pestering them.
I need food.
I'm hungry.
When people handed them free loaves of bread they got pissed.
As I have asked before why are the street people allowed in the parking lots and parking garages?
Why is a crackhead with a shopping cart alloweed anywhere in a parking garage?
They don't have cars and should not be allowed in.
These street people even try to sneak into the stadium.
They have to have 24 hour security at the stadium because crackheads climb the fence and try to steal things to recycle.
Ok
Actually the Bank of California complex, which stretches over the entire block from Mariposa to Fresno Street, is likely much larger than the Bank of Italy building. There are actually two towers as part of that complex, a smaller one right on Mariposa, and the taller 8 story one on the corner of Fresno Street.
But all of that is just arguing semantics, not the substance of the claim, that Fresno's downtown is the worst large downtown is California. If you disagree with the claim, what major California downtown are less vibrant, less a site of private investment, less populated at 6:00pm than Fresno's? I can't think of any, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. Any suggestions?
cpdr sucks
Hilton ... not an office building
3 banks... that are no where as big of a building as the Bank of Italy building from 1917.
like i said that blogger at cpdr regarding California downtowns does not know shit.
It seems this Paul Shigley guy did his research for this ranking by googling the 11 largest cities downtown photos and just judging their looks, to make a incomplete list, with out truly spending some time and money to really visit each with first person accounts.
1970's buildings
Fresno Hilton - construction began in 1970
United California Bank (now the county office of education) - construction began in 1970
Bank of Agriculture (now Bank of the West) - construction began sometime around 1971
Wells Fargo Bank (Van Ness and Fresno Street) - sometime after 1973 (the prior building was torn down in 1973)
Masten Towers - 1973 (but it's not an office building)
please name this 1970s office building?
"The hideous 1970s office buildings are the least of the problems in Fresno's core."
Most all of Fresno's downtown buildings are all pre 1970's
only recently has there been new office buildings built in downtown Fresno.
Can some one name a downtown building built in the 1970s?
I think the writer of that article is talking out of their ass, and had mistaken buildings built in the the 1960s for 1970s.
Housing downtown - 1000's of units are already proposed
Yes, city leaders and developers do know more than they tell us about specific projects. Keep in mind not all business deals are negotiated on the radio like Mr. Trump did on KMJ. And there's a lot of things that have been in the news, in the Bee, on TV, radio, that people either forget about or just skipped over.
There are plans for literally thousands of new downtown housing units, not including Reza's projects. Forest City is scheduled to make a presentation to the City Council on Aug 28th about their revised project. It was originally going to be retail focused, with a housing component. Now it seems that they have switched that to housing focused with a retail component. They made a presentation last week to a group of business leaders, which I wasn't able to attend, but others have said it's a very intersting project.
Now just because there is a plan, or a proposed project, it doesn't mean it's going to happen. But the Hotel Fresno, which is what, eight stories tall, just closed escrow not even two weeks ago, and the developer is planning lofts. This is the same developer who is already renovating another downtown building as we speak, so he has some credibility. Add that to Reza's continued projects, and Forest City's development and you've possibly got something. I agree progress is slower than we'd like, but things are slowly happening.
Frustration!
Do city leaders know something we don't know? Nearly everyone on Famous says the same thing. More housing downtown, more transit, more amenities downtown, and yet it fails to happen. I'm having a hard time understanding why Fresno can't work with developers to get anything built downtown. Are local developers so risk averse that they are willing to forgo this opportunity?
I'm on the 13th floor of an office building in downtown San Diego, looking out over the beautiful downtown and harbor. For lunch, I walked through Little Italy and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of housing units going up in the area. There's an article in the LA Times blogs discussing the urbanization of SoCal. It's as if Fresno is stuck in a developmental time warp, permanently behind the curve.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-me-density6aug06,1,...
I would feel better if elected officials actually posted under their own names, and let people know what type of planning was taking place. The only announcements we get are stupid ideas, like a downtown canal, or a Bass Pro Shop. It's almost as though council goes out of their way to come up with the most far-fetched, off-the-wall, unattainable plans to get people's hopes up. Then instead of something happening, however ineffectual and wasteful, they go back to planning.
I just remembered that Famous denizens are in the minority, and the vast majority of the Fresno populace couldn't care less about downtown. So, I've resigned myself the fact that very little will happen in downtown, and now I remember why I was happy to leave Fresno. I'm so done with this. In democracy, you get the government you deserve. Good luck, and goodbye.
Re: Downtown ranking
It seems like now would be the time to study and plan for such a trolley line, plan for transit oriented development. These things don't happen overnight. Maybe the city is being optomistic on how soon such a line could be built, but I see no problem in looking at it strategically right now. In fact, NOT to look at it would be foolish, because something like that can help guide future development decisions. The trolley is not an isolated project. It's part of a larger effort, which includes THOUSANDS of planned new housing units downtown. Everyone says housing housing housing, and there's a lot of work going on in just that area right now, both in public view, and behind the scenes/soon to be announced. This is not just a plan to build a trolley and not do anything else.
As far as the "worst downtown in the state" piece, I know some people with the city are very upset about that article. They feel it's a cheap shot and mean spirited, and doesn't recognize the improvements that the city has made in the past ten years.
Maybe it is mean spirited. But it still might be correct. Even with all of the government buildings that have been built (over $1 billion in the last few years) what California downtowns are less vital and vibrant than Fresno's? If anything, the fact that we've spent $1 billion and still are at the bottom only shows how far we had fallen behind the rest of the state.
Instead of getting upset at the ranking, we should work to change it. Same for the Brookings Institute Report, where it said Fresno was ahead of even New Orleans in concentrated urban poverty. One reaction would have been to get really mad at the people who wrote the study. Another would have been to work even harder to solve the problem.
Residential
I agree that downtown needs an influx of residnetial urban development. Other developers need to follow Reza Assemi's footsteps and success. To hear what he had to say about developing downtown, check out his article on Fresno Fusion,
http://www.fresnofusion.com/spotlight.php?sid=2
Michael Sloggett
CEO ,Fresno Fusion
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